Method of producing autofrettaged hubs



. June 1942. H, E, SOMES METHOD 0F. PRODUCING AUTOFRETTAGED HUBS original Filed sept. 22, 193e' s sheetssheet 1 @afl A INVENTOR. l fHowQRDE. Sowas ATTORNEY.

i June 3o, 1942.

H. E. SOMES METHOD 0F lfRODUCING AUTOFRETTAGED HUBS original'Filed sept. 22, 193s 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

. QQWQRDESOMES A TTORNE Y.

lii

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 H. E'. SOMES Original Filed Sept. 22, 1936 METHOD OF PRODUCING AUTOFRETTAGED HUBS June 30, 1942?.

lNNEQ 30 SURPQCE A TTORNE Y.

Patented Julie-3o, 1942 UNITED STA'flE-Sy PATENTI olrl'cErf] Howard E. Somes, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Budd Induction Heating, Inc.,'Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation o! Michigan Original application September 22, 1936, Serial No, 101,993. Divided and this application Jan- This application i a'division of my copending application Seria No. 101,993," filed September 22,- 1936, for Autofrettaged hub and method oi producing. I

uar'y 1, 1938, Serial No. 186,192

\ e claims. (Cl. 14s-21) e I u i the inabilityto pass enough current through the coil to do the work required in the'time required without destruction of the coil and/or leads.

The present` invention relates in general to 5 I have found that ample power input may the electromagnetic inductive heating of hollow be attained by providing the primary inducing bodies or the walls of hollow bodies from the coil or helix with aninternal core of high perinside thereof, for example, either where the meability preferably built up of'radial laminawalls or other portions to be heated are inactions or equlvalentstructure, resulting in a core cessible from the outside or where they may l highly conductive of magnetic flux but resistant be accessible from the outside but it is desired to eddy currents and especially induced currents` to hea-t a portion `near'the inner'surface withtending 4to travel in paths normal to the direcout unduly heating the outer remoter portions. tion of magnetic ilux. `When high core temper- `One practical application of theproblem is the atures are involved, lit is preferable to construct heating of the walls of ,a brake drum for any l the core of an'alloy steel of such composition as heat treatment either hardening, normalizing, to retain its magnetic qualities at high tempera,- or annealing, either to accomplish a permanent tures, for example, a cobalt and nickel steel in result or produce an effect useful as an intermewhich a high percentage of cobalt is used, for vdiate step in a process, and where the outer example, '70% more or less. ,The core is-soconsurface of the drum is rendered inaccessible for structed as to form a close magnetic coupling the application of inductive windings as by the through a minimum air gap with thewall or presence of ribs, lugs, or other projections, or bodyv portion of the object tobe heated, usually where it is desired that the heat treatment be lof'iron or an iron alloy. i

more or less restricted to or atleast begin at This ability to effect a high rate of energy theinner surface. 25 input is essential where the requirement is to Another practical application of great value is harden the inner cylindrical surface of an iron in the quantity production of automobile hubs, or iron alloy automobile' hub Vwhile preventingl integralhub and brake drum ybach-platel or insuch4 heating of `remoter portions of the' hub tegral hub and brake drum, where it is desired as would alter-its normal or desired qualities.

, to do away with the usual separate internal :io By shaping the laminated core to surround the y bearing ring or cylinder of hardened material, inside and end portions of the primary inductor by hardening the inner cylindrical portion of the coil, to -form with the portion of the ironbody hub so that it may act Adirectly as the bearing to be heated, a substantially complete housing surface or bearing race for roller bearings. The or encasement for the coil, the magnetic flux problem presented here is to raise the interior is confined to suchcore and' portion of the workportion of the hub to the requiredtemperature with the advantageousresultthat proximate acbefore the heat can travel by conduction to the cessoriesand structural portions of the core such more remote portions in suiilcient quantity to as the lamination locking' rings, and centering unduly raise the temperature of such portions. mandrel for centering the induction heating unit It is known to heat the walls o'f a hollow ob-` 40 in the hub, are protected from being traversed `ject or the exterior portion of` the walls 'of a `by a Substantial amount of magnetic-flux and at hollow object by electrical induction through the least vto'a degree suilicient to prevent undue inuse' of a coil surrounding the object, vsuch fcoil ductive heating'of such accessories'. 4 having a magnetic circuit largely of air or non.- It is a further oblectof my ,invention 1Z0-S6 magnetic material except insofar as the work to manifoldly reduce the reluelaIlCeOf that P01110!! be heated, which constitutes a part of the magof the magnetic path of the heating coil'which netic circuit, may itself be of magnetic material. lies internally of the hollow structure asto ren- It has been found that this' method is not ecolder `it comparable in reluctance with the renomically practical for interior heating as above luctance of that portion which lies exterior to the 'set out, especially where rapid heating of small 50 hollow structure. The provision ofthe internally inside diameters, in the neighborhood' of a foot located magnetic fcore does this. The heat treat- 'or less, is required. A y t ment of the`exteriorsurfaces Vof articles of cir- Attempts to practice such interior heating with Acular section by electro-magnetic induction is the usual air core type of coil or corelessinreadily accomplishedy by, coils without external j ductor have met with failure, apparently due t0 65 magnetic cores for the reason that the unlimited the heat treatment of the interior surfaces of hollow cross sections, constitutes the external magnetic path of the work coil, this situation is quite reversed. The fact that aninteriorlylying atmospheric portion of the circuit is circumscribed by the work itself limits its area and therefore raises its reluctance. When hollow cross section bodies of small diameter, such for example as the automobile wheel hub, are being treated the area becomes so small that the reluctance may be as high as or a dozen times that of the atmospheric portion of the magnetic circuit of the work coil when utilized for treating external surfaces. i I believe this fact to be at the root of the earlier failures in attempts to heat bodies of hollow cross section by coreless inductors, and that this cause has `not been appreciated prior to this, my invention. The amount of power required to heat treat a hollow body of relatively small diameter such as the automobile hub through the use of a coreless inductor would not only be economically prohibitive, but also it would be impractical to accommodate within so confined a space an inductor coil large enough to carry the extreme currents necessary to enable the coreless inductor to produce the flux required for such a heat treatment.

A further phase of my invention is the utilization of a rate of energy input so high as to yprodu-ce in the hollow cross sectioned product the interior wall of which is being heat treated,

a state of autofrettage to the end of a material strengthening of the walls. By a state of autofrettage is meant that state of the distribution respectively, of the compression strains obtaining in the inner heat treated wall and the tension strains obtained in the outer and un-heat treated wall which smooths out the peak of the strain curve of the wall as between its interior and its exterior. 'I'he principle of-autofrettage hasbeen well recognized in gunnery and has usu.-

ally been achieved either by shrinking on external reenforcing tubes, rings or bands, or by internal compression of the inner zones of the wall under high hydraulic pressure, but so far as I 'am aware, .I am the first to achieve this in an integral wall structure through heat treatment by electromagnetic induction.

.According to the method of my invention I achieve .this condition through heating at such a high rate of energy input, so 'extremely rapidly as to avoid gradual heat gradients between that innerzone heated beyond the recalescent point and "that outer zone retained at a temperature so low that it aids materially in the quench, that there is an abrupt difference in temperature between 'the 4two zones, by. stopping abruptly the input of energy when this temperature is reached and by quenching before there has been a change in these temperature relations of the zones of the work and quenching so abruptly and with so uniform a rate as applied to the zone at recalescent temperature that not only is there an abrupt change in hardness from the inner heated zone to the outer unheated zone, but also the lhardened zone is of a uniform and manifoldly increased hardness while the .outer zone is uniformly of its normal hardness unaffected by the heat treatment. Yet further, I contemplate the attainment of a condition of autofrettage, and an increase in strength by so regulatingthe degree of hardness and the the thickness of an outer and unhardened zone that the strain curve of the aggregate thickness of wall is such as to increase its strength.

of .a product, showing the stress distributions Another object of my invention is'the hollow cross section product having integral one piece walls ina condition of autofrettage aording highly substantial increase in strength thereof. 'This object applies peculiarly to relatively thin wall structures of relatively small diameter, diameters of the other of the barrels of automobile wheel hubs and of automobile engine cylinders and the like.

In the quantity productionof certain articles it has been found possible and highly advantageous to slightly vary the form of the object to be treated, in the present instance a wheel hub, to render it more susceptible to rapid heating by induction with minimum heat and power losses and without the sacrifice of mechanical strength o r interference with its intended mechanical functions.

The above and various other objects and advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood from a perusal of the following specilication and the drawings accompanying the same.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal axial section of a preferred form of the invention showing a portion of the central corein elevation,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary detail view showing a portion of the lamination spacing-ring in elevation,

Figure 3 is a. fragmentary perspective view on an enlarged scale of a modied form of tubular conductor,

Figures 4 and 5 show plan and sectional views, respectively, of a modified form of lamination,

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic front elevation of a group arrangement of heating elements, and

Figure 7 is a plan view of the apparatus arrangement of Figure 6.

Figures 8 and 9 are respectively axial and transaxial cross sections of the heat treated por-tion of an automobile wheel hub in a condi- -tion ofy autofrettage.

Figures 10 and 11 are, respectively, axial cross sections of an improved form of vmy apparatus f illustrating one of the improved methods by which I obtain full and immediate quenching, Figure 1Q showing both the work lcoil and spray in working position with. respect to the work and Figure 11 showing the work coil removed and Figure 13 is a very greatly magnified view of a portion of a transaxial cross section of the wall therein both before and after treatment.

Figure 14 is a side' elevation partly in section' showing an arrangement for outside cooling during heating.

Referring `to the drawings in detail, and first to Figures 1 and 2 the invention is here shown applied to the internal heating of an automobile wheel hub for heat treating an inner integral portion designed to act a's a bearngrace for the wheel. f Y

The hub member I, may be the hub portionV of an integral hub and brake-drum, integral hub and brake drum back, or simply the hub member of any type of wheel carryingan internal roller-bearing race. The hub is provided with the .usual tapered axlel bore 2 at its outer end and al relativelyV large roller bearing bore 3 at its inner end,-the bearing bore being provided on its inner wall with a radially inwardly -projecting portion integral brake drum back, a portion of which l near the hub is indicated at 5.

AThe hub has the standard cross sectional contour with certain var iations conducive to electro-magnetic inductive heat treatment as hereinafter described, without interference with the desired mechanical functions of the hub or any lessening of its mechanic-al strength.

This variation from lthe known form consists mainly in a slight narrowing of the annular section indicated at tpreferably by outwardly deepening the annular recessed portion 1 and adding strengthening metal in the form of ribs 8 to compensate for the metal taken away, the ribs 8 being arranged to extend longitudinally and axially so as to lle in planes substantially at rightangles to .the path of induced currents. The portion 6 may also be reduced by taking away a portion of the metal on the outer surface thereof, substituting strengthening ribs' arranged to offer the maximum radiating surface and suitably orientated to oifer maximum impedance to induced currents. The latter construction. may be either alternative to yor in addition to'the formen However, it will be noted that by outreduced lower portion 2| of the mandrel I5. For angularly spacing' the laminations of the core Il thelower outer portions of the laminations are nested individually in angularly spaced radial slots 22 from the top of peripheral marginal portion 23 ofthe base ring I8. The base ring thus holds the laminations on the mandrel in the proper radial arrangement, while the clamping rings I6 and I1 hold them in good thermo contact with the mandrel, thus greatly facilitating heat exchange between the core and the water-cooled mandrel.. The angular spacing of the laminations affords excellent insulation between the laminations at those portions in which the iiux density is greatest. l

The lower terminal 24 of the conducting helix projects downwardly through 'an opening 25 .in the base ring from which it is air insulated by proper spacing, although suitable solid insulation may be used. This extension is for electrical'conynection with one terminal of a. suitable source of alternating current supply, not shown, and for l through an opening 21 in the wall of the hollow wardly deepening the recess 'I and using the'ribs 8 for strengthening, the demarcation of the inwardly extended, annular race portionis ac centuated thus aiding inthe generated therein. y

Arranged to ilt within the hub and in close localization ci heat i spaced relation with the inner surface 3 of the bearing race-portion of the hub, is the electromagnetic inductive heating element comprising in general an inductor helix 9 formed of a tubular l conductor l I0 having a hollow cylindrical, highly permeable, laminated core II. extending radially` It is also contemplated to use in place of either or both the sleeve and washers, insulating enamel of known or other suitable form. Y

The heating element is sturdily constructed and is carried firmly and strongly on a mandrel support I4, tapered at its upper end I5 to t snugly into theV tapered bore ofthe hub and provided with a center bore in its lower portion for water cooling as will be 'hereinafter described, The' laminations of the 4core II are arranged y l radially'about the mandrel Il and clamped in place thereon by means of the upper stationary clamping ring I6 and the lower movable clamping ring I1, the lower clamping ring I1 beingv yclamped upwardly against the through .the base ring I8l and foot ring I9 by the laminations liollowyclampingnut or cap 20 threaded on to a connection with a suitable source of cooling iiuid also not shown, but which may be of any known or other suitable form, while the upper terminal 22' extends into the internal bore 26 of the mandrel,

portion of the mandrel andlin fluid tight connection therewith, the electrical connection of tions; being completed through the mandrel by suitable4 electrical connection and iluid tight coupling with the clamping nut 20, the lower end of the nut 20 being provided with a tapped opening 28 for this purpose. It is further contemplated to insulate the upper terminal of the helix from the supporting mandrel and laminated core by extending an insulated continuation of the conductor tubing down through the mandrel for outside electrical and fiuidconnections. The heating element is supported in a supporting base 29 through a seating ring 30..

The parts of the heating element and the article to be treated are so proportioned in relation to each other that when the hub member I is set down-upon the heating element 2, the heating 'element `will be properly centered and positioned clamping ring I6 with the outer surface of the of the electro-magnetic energy with minimum' losses through magnetic leakage or dissipation of lower edges.

convolutions of the conductor helix, or primary inductor,l positioned parallel to and in close proximity to the inner surface of the annular` the helix and radially outwardly over the top and It will be clear that the structure 1 here described affords an extreme concentration the ilux and induced currents. '.Io add further to this concentration of electro-magnetic energy,

especially where high frequencies are used, the

l tubular conductor composing the conductor helix may takel the form shown in Figure 3. In this form the conductor is made with a relatively the cooling fluid. However, in many cases the conductor may be inade solid, of rectangular or round cross-section and relatively massive, where the duty cycle is not so severe. To reduce absorption bythe conductor of heat radiated from the surface. of the work, and thus tend tu maintain its current carrying capacity undiminished, the conductor may be plated and bufled on its exposed surface to render its surface highly refle'cting. While it is known to effect thermal insulation by reflection, the use of this kind of insulation as and for the purpose herein disclosed, and the arrangement whereby it is utilized is believed to be new and to constitute invention in its conception. A further advantage of the reflecting surface as herein used is that it not only prevents heating of the conductor by absorption of heat radiated from the work but promotes rapid heating of the latter due to the reverberatory effect produced between it and the accaccc maximum'current density, and any undue heating of the outer portion by conduction from the inner portion, will not take place before the inner portion has been raised to the desired hardening temperature. In fact, this temperature rise is 'eect'ed so rapidly that. the outer annular portions and other adjacent portions will remain sulciently cool to aid in a quenching or cooling of the bearing portion with such outer and adjacent portions remaining well below the hardening temperatureso as to preserve the vdesired mechanical characteristics of the remaining portions of the hub.

In Figures 8 and 9 I show the product as completely heat treated. by mymethod and as so heat treated having walls in a condition of autofrettage. Parts the' same as those described with work. It is preferable to plate the conductor for instance with chromium, the chromium coating being oxidized to secure a film of high electrical insulating value and, after assembly in the heating fixture, to buff, burnish or otherwise polish the exposed surface to secure a highly reflecting surface of high thermal insulating value.

It is further contemplated to increase the iiux carrying capacity of the laminated core'by ta.-

pering the laminations radially inwardly as shown in Figures 4 and 5, so that the' laminations 35 will lie in contact along ra-dial planes and form in effect a substantially solid core ring. In this yform'the laminations would,` of course, be insulated or partially insulated in any known or other suitable manner as by oxidation.

In operation the terminal 24 and the clamping nut 20 which form the electrical terminals of the primary inductor helix are connected through conductors 3| and 32 to a suitable source 33 of alternating current, preferably of high frel quency, the durationof connection being conbearing portion to the hardening temperature,

after which the current supply is discontinued and the hub removed, and immediately quenched in order to produce the desired local hardening.

During energization of the helix Il, heat is dissipated from the heating element by-the circu^ lation of a' suitable cooling-fluid through the hollow conductors of the helix Il andthe central bore 26 of the supporting mandrel I4. As the mandrel I4 is in good thermal contact with the vmagnetic core Il, heat interchange takes the aid of'Flgure 1 are provided with reference numerals so far as needed, the sameas those in Figure 1. The inner heat treated and .hardened zones I have designated specially 55 and shown it by dense cross hatching, the outer andvunheat treated zone having normal hardness as prevailing before the heat treatment of the zone 55 as desig ted 58. The interconnecting material between hese two zones I designate 5l.

In Figure l2 I have shown a curve of hardness of the different portionsof the wall from the interior on .the left to the exterior on the right, the scale of hardness being the Rockwell C scale. The normal hardness is of the order of 10 in the outer zone 56. The hardness of the inner heat treated zone is of the order of 58 or 60.

The zones and the interconnecting material have been given by dimensionally applied lines on the diagram of Figure 12 the same reference'numerals as `used in connection with Figures 8 and 9. Note that the hardnesses of the .inner .heat treated zone 55 and the outer unheat treated zone 56 are substantially uniform throughout their radial extent. Note that the interconnecting material 5l is of extremely small extent approximately only "5500 of an inch (note the scale graduations on the base line).l The transition between the hardened zone '55 and the unhardened zone 56 is therefore extremely abrupt.

Not only is the uniformity of hardness as applied to the respective zones and the abrupt transition therebetween especially notable, but also of especial note and all contributing to the highly substantial increase in strength incident to autofrettage are the following: The radial thickness of the hardened zone is substantially uniform through its annular and axial extents. 'Ihe product has not been distorted in dimension as a result'of the heat treatment, being possessed of its identical geometrical form possessedv before heat treatment. It is neither axially 'nor circumferentially out of true. dimension of the finished interior surface of the zone 55 has not been altered more than one or placev therebetween cooling the magnetic core.

` The circulation of the cooling fluid is preferably outwardly, but the rate of energy input is made so high that the generation of heat in the outer `portion of this outward shift of the zone of two thousandths of an inch. These things collectively make not only for materially increased strength, but also for economic productionl Moreover, the

'2,288,033 'k. w. for square inch of surface treated. and

such that `there is a very `minimum of graduation if any, of temperature between the heated zone and that unheated exterior zone,.which due to its relatively unheated condition so materially aids in the quench, through an abrupt cut-oil? of energy when this condition is reached, followed or accompanied by an abrupt quench jointly by the unheated material of the outer zone 56and v auxiliary quenching means. 'I'he rate of energy input is so lgreat that the zone 55 is heated to 'netic core which is` provided in this small diamthe recalescentwemperature and somewhat beranged to extend down over the upper and thinner portion of the wall of the hub barrel, leaving a space 1i between the hub barrel and the inner side wall of thefcooling hood. A cooling fluid,

' preferably gaseous, is supplied by way of a suitable iiexible connection 12, annular manifold passage 13 and vertical passages or ducts 14 to the radially inwardly and axially upwardly directed annular outlet from whence the cooling fluid4 is directed upwardly against ,the outside wall of the hub barrel. The cooling fluid passing upwardly along the outside wall of the hub barrel continues on upwardly to an annular exhaust chamber or recess 1 5, exhausting through exhaust ports 16 extending outwardly through the side Wall of the hood in staggered relation with the vertical ducts or channels. It will be un der stood that by suitable proportioning of the total area of the exhaust ports and other'parts and suitable regulation of,pressure the fluid may be made to pass all upwardly and out of the ex# eter thin wall hollow structure according to my l' method.

Any known means oi quenching may be used and I have used bath quenching, but in Figures 10 and 11 I disclose an improved form of apparatus over andabove that shown in Figure 1 embodyin g a spray head 58. 'I'his spray head is introducedthroughA the hollow of the core Il and `when thecore 'gli and the work coil 9 are in operative relation to the work the spray head 58 is also in operative relation. However, during' the one o r two seconds the\` energy of electrol magnetic induction is being applied there lis no cooling medium sprayed through the head 58. At the close of the heating period, however, core 'il and the coil 9 which it .carries are abruptly withdrawn vertically axially of the spray head i I 5B as shown in Figure -11 and inthe same lnstant or simultaneously therewith. Just so soon Y as the work coil clears thespray openings V59 the cooling :medium is applied by hydraulic pressure through the head 58 uniformly to the entire heat treated zone 55 through :a multiplicity ofv l funiformly distributed openings 59.` This avoidsa complication of quick handling machinery or quick manual handling of the hub and greatly enhances the commercialapplication ofmy proc- -yessv and quantity production of my product.

Through 'the use of this spray'head introduced 50 through the hollow otthe magnetic core and lying in readiness` during the heating operation i first cost or machine practiced by my invention 1 and the labor cost inquantity production are materially `reduced. x Moreover, the 4 degree of abruptness of` the change in hardness in thel connecting material 51 may be regulated throughl regulation of the spray and withoutthe necessityfor re.adjustment-or redesign of anI entiremachine or the entire series of handling `opera- Either liquid or gaseous spray fluids or a mixture ofthe two may be' used,` and where a liquid is used it is preferable tosupp'ly it through the' nozzle in suilicient quantityandat a sumcient -rate to not only pass through the lower opening in the hub but `to overflow thehub andpass aroundthe outside of the hub barrel and over I and around the ange portionv of the hub;k Itis also desirable in some instances,especially4 the outside oi the wall during'the heating step in the process. An arrangement for carryingout this combination of steps is shown inFlg. 14v

in which there is providedia` cooling hood 10 ar-g- -70.` inthe treatmentotthin `walled objects, to cod haust ports and even to produce some venturi effect, or may be made to flow partly upwardly and partly downwardly over and 'aroundthe outyside of the hub.

Perhaps a better idea of the source of the increased strength of wall of thethin walled hollow cross sectioned product may be had from the stress diagram of Figure 13. Here the several zones of material are designated by the numerals 55, 56 and 51 with the same meaning. The integral one piece thin wall structure before the heat treatment of my invention in the instance of internal pressures uniformly applied to its walls as indicated by the arrows -60 would result in a distribution of stress as between the interior and exterior portions oi the wall'represented bythe stress curve 6| which is based on the radial line 62 of the thickness. Here it will be observed that the highest tension stresses are those at the innermost surfaces of the zone 55,

appearing at the peak 63 of the curve, and the lowest stresses are stresses of tension obtaining in theoutermost surfaces, as appearing at the lower end `84`of curve 6|. It is the presence of the peakstresses in the portion 63 and those' adjoining, of the curve 6i, which are the source of weakness when the structure is subjected to` internal pressure tending to radiallyldisruptit.

When the zone 55 has been hardened bymy process .and is connected with the outer zonel 5B by the relatively thin body of transition material 51 the material o! the wall is placed under initial .stresses according to the curve which it will be notedextends from the interior below the line 62 tothe exterior aboveq the line 62.j Below the line 62 and within the confines of the zone 55 the stresses are compression stresses nega- `tive in value as distinguished from the positive tension valuesillustrated in curve 6i. Above the line` 62 andwithin the c'onilnes of zone 56 the tension `stresses are of a positive value.

- LNow when the disruptive forces indicated by the'arrows 60 are applied 'interiorly, instead oi resulting in a' strain distribution according to curve 6i, the result is a strained distribution acf' cording to curve ,86. ,This curve is a compound 4 of the stresses 'of curve Bias introduced through z `my,y treatment and the disruptive stresses which -would have been` introduced ii the structure had not'been 'so treated. The forces of compression defined by the ends 51 of curve 65 aresubttacted 'from theftensioni'orces oi curve Il llying in the samezone- 55 resulting Ain the portion." o f curve Awwhereas `the forces, of Itension on theI end 0I of curve 65 are added to the forces of tension on the end 64 of curve 6i. The result is a smoothing out of all the stresses which would otherwise have been introduced in the structure and a unifying of the stresses upon the material body at large. In this lies the substantial increase in the strength of the structure incident to autofrettage.

Tests made of the cylindrical walls of hubs treated according to my invention show conclusively that the inner portion of the wall is under compression while the outer wall is under tension. This test consisted in the removal of successive layers of metal from the outside and the taking of measurements of the inside diameter after the removal of each layer. It was found that near the open end of the treated portion of the bearing recess in an average of readings on inside diameters in three different directions on each of three different hubs, the diameter increased an average of .007 of an inch, approxi-y mately one one-hundredth of an inch.

While-I am not at present aware of exactly what changes take place during the treatment to bring about this resultant state of autofrettage, it is believed to be due in part to cold working of an intermediate zone beyond its elastic limit by thermal expansion of an adjacent inner zone, and in part "to atomic enlargement accompanying a conversion of the material of the inner zone from austenite to martensite.

In the quantity production of articles with portions heat treated in accordance with the present invention, a group of heating units may be arranged to be continuously cooled while being connected in multiple to the cooling connection manifolds 42-43, they are adequately electrically insulated for individual electrical energization through the use of individual cooling connections 4ll-4I of insulating material such as rubber hose or fabric-reinforced rubber hose or the like, of suiiicient length to effectively electrically separate the heaters by the electrical resistance or insulating quality of the cooling fluid. Any known or other suitable method of preventing undue loss of energy through the cooling system maybe availed of especially where water is used as the cooling fluid. vFor example, each heating unit may be provided with a separate and independent cooling system with separate pumps and reservoirs.

. Although the switches 48 have been shown as hand operated bipolar knife switches for the sake of simplicity of disclosure, it is desirable in practice to use foot operated switches instead, so

. that the operator'may readily close the circuit used one at a time in seriatim through the provision of a permanently connected cooling sys-` tem, preferably common to the group, and means for individually energizing and de-energizing any one of the heaters without interrupting the operation of the cooling means, thus affording ample cooling time for the heating units between operations without loss in production;

Such -an arrangement is illustrated diagrammatically in Figures 6 and 7, wherein is indicated a 'group of the heating elements 36conveniently mounted upon a suitable support such as the bench 3l with metallic tubular extensions 38 and 39 leading from the coil terminal 24 and tapped terminal 28 (Figure l) through suitable high resistance orA insulating conduits such as rubber hose connections 40 and 4|, to input and output cooling fluid manifold connections 42 and y 43, respectively. Suitable electrical connection ismade between the tubular terminal extensions 38-39 through. terminals I4-45, conductors' 46-41, switches 48 and conductors 49- 50 to a suitable source of alternating current 5I.4

In operation cooling viluid is continuously applied to the group of heaters 3S through the tion upon the cutting off of the manifolds 42---43 from a suitable source, not

shown, while the operator places an article such as the integral hub and brake drum -I on one Aof the heating elements 36, for example, the one at the extreme right hand end as indicated in Figure 6. The operator then energizes the heater 36 by' closure of the extrme right hand switch 48 for the required period of, time, after which the switch is opened and the hub l removed andV quenched.' The operator then proceeds to use anotherof the heaters, for example, the middle heater, and so on through the group of heaters in seriatim, the remaining heaters continuing to cool while not in use.

Although the several heaters are mechanically for vthe sake of definite disclosure, it is to be.

understood that the invention is not limited to such specic embodiments but contemplates all such modifications and variants thereof as fall fairly within the scope of lthe appended claims.

What I claim is: I 1. The method of hardening a surface zone only of thin walled structures ofmaterial hard' .enable by heating and then quenching which `consists in recessing said surface zone to form a wall transversely thereof to provide one terminus of the zone portion to be heated, in introducing the heat to the surface zone substantially wholly by electro-magnetic*induction while circulating the magnetic flux longitudinally of the said surface zone and beyond such Wall and thence into said zone portion substantially longitudinally thereof, the introduction of heat being at a rate so extremely high that the said surface zone portion is heated to hardening temperature beforethe metal beyond' said surface zone portion has been heated by conduction to a temperature which will prevent its acting as an efficacious quenching agency for the said surface zone porsupply of energy thereto.

2. The method of heat treating by' electromagnetic induction a hollow magnetic body, open at one vend and at least partially closed at its other end, at an annular zone one side of which from said at least partially closed end, which comprises passing high frequency valternating current through an annular path closely adjacent the annularzone to be heat treated and directing the magnetic flux created by such current through a highly permeable path into the atleast partially closed end and leading such iiux endwise into and generally axially into the annular zone to be heat treated.

f 3.- 'Ihe method of heat ltreating by electromagnetic induction a hollow magnetic body having a bore open at one end and atleast partially closed at the other end, said borehaving a cylindrical bearing surface of predetermined axial extent terminating at its extremities in substan- 'radially and axially beyond the radial faces of l the bearing Asurface directly into the magnetic body and thence generally axially into theA bearing surface.

4., In the heat treatment o`f bodies having surfacesA of cylindrical form, the method of heat treating an annular zone of the cylindrical sur-1 face less in length than the entire axial length thereof which consists in circumferentially recessingthe surface to define at least one termination of the zone by a radial face of a radial depth atleast as great as that of the zone to be treated,

, and thereafter electromagneticlally inducing high frequency annular heating currents in the zone to be treated, by circulating magnetic ux axially of the body and axially beyond such radial face in such manner that the radial face concentrates a magnetic'ux of greater density in the surface of the zone than is attainable without recessing the surface to be treated.

5. The method of heating a circumferential spaced .circumferentially uniformly from said zone, passing substantially the entire ux also being at a rate substantially equivalent to the introduction to each square inch of surface being heated of between l5 and 2O kilowatts for 1.8 seconds of l' time, whereby said surface zone is heated to hardening temperature before the remainder metal surrounding said zone has'been .heated by conduction to a temperature which will prevent itsl acting as an eiicacious quenching agency for the surface zone upon cutting off of the supply of heating energy thereto.

6. The method'of heating the bore of a hollow magnetic body throughout an annular zone of predetermined radial depth and predetermined axial extent, which comprises helically passing high frequency. alternatingv current throughan annular path extending closelyadjacent to and beyond the ends of said zone and directing substantiall'y the entire flux created by.such current through a confined highly permeable path nrst longitudinally of and radially within the` current path, thence substantially Yin its entirely beyond the ends of said current path and radially directly into said body at regions. axially spaced from the extremities of said zone and finally also surfacezone of a thin-walled`cylindrical mag- I netic body to a temperature suitable for harden-l ing, which comprises-introducing heat into said "zone wholly by electromagnetic inductionv while circulating .the generated magnetic flux through a restricted path longitudinally vof and radially substantially in its entirety longitudinally through the crossQ-section'of said body including 'the zone of predetermined axial extent whereby the said substantial entirety of magnetic flux extends parallel to said zone throughout its axial extent to eifect heating of said-zone to substantially 4uniform radial depth throughout the axial extent thereof.

HOWARD E. SOMES. 

